


Le Moulin Rouge

by KitsuneK155



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Moulin Rouge! Fusion, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Boys In Love, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gay Bill Denbrough, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Stanley Uris, Humor, Like Moulin Rouge, M/M, Multi, Reddie, Romantic Fluff, Stenbrough, Straight Ben Hanscom, Straight Beverly Marsh, benverly - Freeform, itau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-04-25 16:58:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14382996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsuneK155/pseuds/KitsuneK155
Summary: Set in Paris, 1905, Richie is hired as a photographer at the marvellous Le Moulin Rouge. While working there he falls for the main attraction, Eddie, but also discovers the truth behind Eddie and a few other dancers job.





	1. Prologue

_Paris, 1905_

It was a place of truth, beauty, freedom and above all things,  _love._ To us, it is known in English The Red Mill, but in its native tongue, it was known as a world of wonders;  _Le Moulin Rouge_. 

It was a world where fantasy mixed with reality to form into one. People from all over the world would join in for the fun this land offered. Different men and woman would enter for ultimate fun and adventure. It really was a place of wonders. 

Richie Tozier was hired to be the photographer of the wondrous world. Like all the other men entering the palace, he couldn’t help but let his excitement overcome himself. The young man was informed the night before on where he would be able to shoot his pictures. He needed every shot to be absolutely perfect, and they were. 

From the blinding bright colours to the booming music and the amazing dancers and performers themselves. Laughter was thick in the air as not a single frown was on anyone’s faces. Each worker was putting in all they had for the guest! The excitement was blinding his vision but Richie wasn’t here for entertainment. Richie needed to get his job done without any more distractions, and it was going so well. 

It wasn’t until the brightest light of them all was shown,  _him_. 

Everything slowed down as the young photography took in the moment. He looked through the lens with his concentration the only thing on his mind. Darkness surrounded everyone on the dance floor. The only light supplied was the mystery performer, steadily lowering down who it was. A smile of success grew on Richie’s lips. Yet, the moment the bright light revealed it’s beauty, the concentration Richie held onto dropped like a pin. 

He lifted his head from his camera, hoping it was just an image of his imagination. It wasn’t, it was all real. A small figure glistening in sequins and jewels. There was something different about this performers, it made something spark something inside Richie. The reveal being it a male, only made the spark stronger within Tozier. A deep attraction was drawn to this special one. 

His evenly tanned skin shined in the lights. The dark cocoa brown hair growing from his scalp was styled exactly how it needed to me. No physical muscle was visible, but that only made him more perfect. 

“It’s him,” someone behind Richie mumbled, “The Moonlit Jewel.”

“ _The Moonlit Jewel_ ,” Richie couldn’t help but let a gentle smile trace his lips. His, moonlit jewel.


	2. I - Welcome!

Richie was informed that once Le Moulin Rouge was closed and officially everyone was gone, to meet up with the owner. His new boss was quite a quiet man once you got to know him but would put on a joyful persona for the guest. Richie remembered meeting him when he was first brought to Le Moulin Rouge. Now all he could think about was the whole night.

“He’s over there!” A voice cheered, it sounded like a feminine voice.

“Richard!” His bosses voice called. “Th-teh-there you are!”

Oh yeah, his boss also has a stutter, but the guest sees it as a little quirk in his personality.

“Hey!” He smiled, pulling his briefcase along with him. “My god! The dancers out there! That’s fucking amazing!”

His employer was still in his red tuxedo, but the makeup was whipped off. The owner’s naked face was on full display. Richie didn’t mind it though. Alongside him was one of the main dancers. She was still in full costume, and her makeup half whipped off. The woman’s face was covered in freckles and was as red as her hair. It was at shoulder length but was still in a fancy updo. The blue eyes she had matched the puffy skirt and tight corset costume she was in.

“Well, we are trained to perform!” The dancer puffed out, still exhausted from her dance.

“Richard, this is B-Beverly,” the owner introduced her. “She’s one of o-o-our main d-de-dancers.”

Richie smiled as he shook Beverly’s hand, “please, Bev’s fine.”

“Coolio, then you shall call me Richie,” he laughed. “Apparently I’m the new photographer!”

“Bill!” Bev turned around to her boss, “he needs to meet the dancers.”

Bill smiled, leading him to where all his other dancers are, “come on, R-Ri-Richie.”

Once he entered the performers dressing room, he was greeted with smiling faces and puffy outfits. Like the ones that Bev was still wearing. Most of the performers were of women, but there were some men. They were all getting ready to return home for the night.

“HEY! EVERYONE!” Beverly yelled over all the voices. All heads were turned to her and her new co-worker. “This is Richie! He’s the new photographer!”

“Make him f-feel welcomed!”

A male performer walked up to him. This performer was a little different from the rest. Maybe it was because he was the only dark performer there? His shoulders were broad and muscles made him look powerful. He was at eye-to-eye level with him, hence he was tall. A buzz cut was the only hair on him, besides his eyebrows of course.

“I’m Michael,” the man placed his hand out, “but people call me Mike.”

“Hey!” Richie shook his hand.

“D-da-does anyone know where Ed-Ed-Edward is?” Bill asked, scanning the room.

“Stanley had to help him down.”

“Edward?” Richie asked, confused. “Stanley? These some less interesting people?”

Mike laughed, “Stan’s our backstage guy, he’s always helping out.”

“Eddie’s our main performer!” Beverly turned to him, “his stage name is The Moonlight Jewel.”

“You called?”

Richie spun on his heels to be face to face with him. _The_ moonlight jewel! It was only moments ago he saw this man dangling from the ceiling. Now though, he was standing right in front of him. Surprisingly, Richie was picturing someone a little taller, but that didn’t mind him.

Eddie had a small towel wrapped around his neck. Some of his makeup was rubbed off but some mascara was still there. He was still wearing what he performed in earlier, but an oversized coat covered his body.

“Eddie! This is Richie, he’s the new photographer!” Mike introduced him, patting the lanky man.

“Hi!” Eddie smiled, placing his hand out for a shake. “Welcome to _Le Moulin Rouge_.”

“Is it true this place is supposed to be a magical one?” Richie smirked, shaking the smaller boy’s hand.

It felt like sparks were fired inside his stomach. A shock of electricity was coursing through his veins. Richie hasn’t remembered the last time he felt a type of excitement like this. If he had to be truly honest, he was loving every moment of it.

Eddie laughed, “you could say that.”


	3. II ~ Little Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the slow update!!! I've been so busy with school since exams are coming up where I am. I'm hoping to post a new chapter really soon!!! Tell me if you want more.

A knock brought Richie back to reality. His mind was clouded with all the memories of last night. It was everything from the blinding lights, to the echoing music and dancing colours! No matter how many times he tried to distract himself, his mind always travelled back to Le Moulin Rouge. Don’t get him wrong, he loved working at Le Moulin Rouge but now it was starting to effecting him.

Richie stood up from his bed as he walked over to the apartment door. When he opened the door, standing there was a man the same height as him. His hair was curly like him but had a top hat on to hide the curls. The man looked familiar like he saw him before.

“You’re Richard Tozier, right?” The stranger asked, removing the top hat.

“Yeah, but Richie’s fine,” Richie agreed, leaning against the door frame, “you are?”

“Stanley Uris,” he introduced himself. “William may own Le Moulin Rouge, but I’m the man responsible for the lights, props and all that.”

“Who’s William?” Richie asked, confused.

“He prefers to be addressed as Bill,” Stan explained. “May I have a quick word with you?”

“Sure,” He smiled, moving out the way.

Stanley had a look around the small apartment his fellow worker lived. Off to the side was a tiny kitchen and a round dining table. It seemed to only have enough room for two people maximum. A double bed was pushed to the side but still had enough leg room for both sides. Windows were open and a balcony with a view of the whole city, including Le Moulin Rouge. On the wall were two doors almost side by side. One must be the bathroom while the other for his work.

“What can I do for you today Stan The Man?” Richie asked, closing the door.

“You don’t happen to be busy today, are you?” Stan asked, taking in everything around his apartment.

“Nope,” Richie shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“Good,” Stan looked over to Richie. “Bill would like you to come in today to take a few shots of the place.”

“Didn’t I do that last night?” Richie asked, placing his hands into his pockets.

“He means when the place is empty,” Stan groaned. “He would’ve asked last night if he and the damn performers didn’t get drinks right after.” Then he mumbled to himself, “dumbasses.”

“Oh,” Richie soon realised, connecting the dots. “What time does the boss need my appearance?”

“Preferably, now!” Stan answered.

Richie smiled, “I’ll need a few minutes to get my stuff then but I-.”

“Good!” Stan grabbed his top hat, then placed it on his head. “I assume you know how to get there.”

“Yeah but I-.”

“I’ll see you there, Toizer!” And with that, he was out the door and left his co-worker to his thoughts.

Richie stood in his apartment for a few seconds to realise what he was asked to do. He was needed at Le Moulin Rouge, the place where he works because he needs to take pictures of the place. That seems innocent enough! Oh shit! Richie forgot to ask if he’ll be meeting Bill or any of the performers.

**~~~**

Richie walked in to see the building in its raw state. There wasn’t anything fancy in the building. The curtains were drawn and some of the furniture had white sheets covering them. The stage had random instruments laying around on it, and a few performers were sitting on the edge.

On the dance floor was an equal mixture of people in costume and normal clothes. Hell, even some of the performers had a mixture of costume and normal clothes. It was easy for Richie to see who were performers and who helped with backstage.

In the group, he saw Stanley there with his hat and coat off to the side. He seemed to be talking to his boss, Bill, about the next design. Beverly and Mike were talking to a man a little shorter than Beverly. His figure was a mixture of muscle and fat, but it made him look good.

Beverly turned around, her arm waving in the air once her eyes connected to Richie, “come over here!”

Richie looked around, then realised Beverly was calling for him. He walked over with his briefcase, and a smile on his lips.

“Richie,” Beverly smiled. “This is my husband, Ben,” she introduced the co-worker. “He helps Stanley with the props are background.”

“Hello,” Ben placed his hand out. His voice seemed to be the most gentle out of the whole workers.

“Nice to meet ya, Benny.”

Mike smiled, placing his hands on his hips, but soon vanished when he saw something terrible, “I’ll be right back.”

Richie spun around and watched the built man. Beverly stood beside Richie with her husband's hand between hers. Stan and Bill caught onto what was happening within the three. They moved their gaze to what was happening.

They would’ve thought the man left a little earlier instead of now. The stranger was fixing his blazer and the hat on his head. Mike walked over to the stranger as he placed a hand on their shoulder. It looked like he said a few words before the man dug into his pockets and pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. Soon the stranger scurried along and out the door.

A look of disgust and disappointment covered Mike’s face as he handed the envelope to Bill. His boss had the exact reflection of disappointment and disgust on his face. Stan ran a hand through his hair as he mumbled to himself something. Richie was confused as all hell what was wrong, he looked over to Beverly and Ben. Their faces showed both woe.

“Damn you, Bowers.” Ben cursed to himself.

“Why? Who was that?”

“A client,” Mike’s voice brought Richie to his attention.

“Wait!” Beverly turned her head to Bill, “wasn’t that Eddie’s?”

“What?” Richie was still confused as to what was going on.

Beverly sprinted off into where the man entered from, with Stan and Mike following her. Richie followed along them to finally put his curiosity to ease. The young man entered through different hallways and rooms to be greeted with a new room. Beverly pushed open the door, to be greeted with another hallway and doors in a pattern. The only thing on the doors were numbers, all the way up to 10.

“Shit!” Richie cursed. “What’s behind door number 3?”

“Shut up,” Stan shushed him.

Beverly opened the door at the end, Number 10. The three men followed Beverly into the room. Richie stayed at the door frame but was soon regretting tagging along. What he saw made him feel guilty for what he said earlier.

The room had one single double bed in the middle of the room. The sheets, just by looking at them, were soft and almost velvet like with a red and gold pattern on them. A bedside table right next to the bed had two empty glass, that were drunken out of, with an almost empty bottle of whisky. The sunlight was struggling to come through the matching curtains. An opened door was pushed to the side, it showed the bathroom that must’ve been used.

Richie’s eyes scanned the room as he remembered everything in its place. Clothes were scattered around the bed with some towels too. A small figure was laying on one side of the bed, face down on the sheets. The figure looked to be male by his back muscles, they weren’t defined like Mikes, more like someone else’s he saw last night. His once combed curls were now messed up and ruined.

“Eddie,” Beverly sat on the empty side, crawling over to her co-worker.

He groaned as he stretched in the sheets, “five more minutes.”

A smile of relief appeared on everyone’s lips, except for Richie. His mind was still trying to take in everything.

Eddie turned onto his back, his face up to the ceiling as he covered his whole body with the blanket, “when did he leave?”

“About five minutes ago,” Mike joined Beverly on the empty side of the bed. “I made him pay before he left.

“Thanks,” Eddie rubbed his eyes. “God, I’ve got a headache.”

“Well thanks for giving me more work to do,” Stan observed the sheets.

“You’re welcome,” Eddie chuckled as he tried to sit up, but he winced in reaction. “Jesus he must’ve been big!”

“Or just rough,” Beverly chuckled.

Richie was trying to put the pieces together on what was happening. Mike noticed his facial expressions and made Stan notice. Stan turned around to see Richie standing there, watching the conversation closely.

“Jesus Christ,” he cursed to himself and pushed Richie out and closed the door behind them. “Come on.”

Eddie could hear voices behind the door, a look of grief taking form, “normally they find out after 1 month, not one night.”

“He was gonna find out either way,” Beverly sighed. “He did join _Le Moulin Rouge_.”

“At least he didn’t need to be sat down and talked through it,” Mike shrugged, “come on, get dressed.”


	4. III ~ Explanation

“Why the hell did you follow us?” Stan asked the minute the door was closed.

“Can you blame me for being curious?” Richie shrugged.

“Yes! I can,” Stan groaned.

“Well you’re not very nice,” Richie mumbled.

“Richie! Look!” Stan ran a hand through his curls. “Some of the dancers here, including Eddie, are forced to do some extra moves for willingly paying clients.”

“Are you talking about prostitution?”

“We can’t fight it!” Stan ignored his question completely. “Not even Bill can! He may own it, but a more powerful man holds the deed to this place. All Bill is now is just a messenger boy from that asshole.”

“Who?”

“Some billionaire named Bowers,” Stan wasn’t focused on that. “Listen! All you need to know is this; do what you’re told to do, no matter how far it goes.”

Richie sighed, “Why? What happens when someone steps out of line?”

“You wanna know?” Stan asked. “One of our dancers tried stepping up to him and got shot.”

Richie stumbled back a little, taken back by what his co-worker said. He stepped aside and rubbed his face, “Jesus fucking Christ!”

Footsteps were heard from down the hall, then stopped all of a sudden.

“He knows.”

“Already?” The voice got louder as it got closer.

“Fuck yeah,” Richie groaned. “Didn’t realise I was working in a brothel.”

“This isn’t a-a brothel,” Bill began. “As much as I n-ne-need to stop this, I can’t.” Bill licked his lips. “Please, Richie. Just do your job.”

Bill knocked on the door, then entered while closing the door behind him.

Stan sighed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets, “do you understand now?”

“Yeah,” Richie groaned. “Whatever.”

“Good,” Stan nodded. “Come on. We gotta get back to work.”

Stan walked away with his hands in his pockets. Richie was left there with the memory of Eddie’s body in those sheets. It frustrated him like crazy, but he didn’t know why. If it was a girl then maybe he’d asked for a discount. He just shook his head and got back to the main area.

**~~~**

Everyone was back to work as they continued like they saw nothing. Richie was keeping to himself a little more than he usually does when working. His mind would travel from the camera to the memory. The others thought he was just concentrating, but Beverly could see right through him.  

“Hey, Richie!” Beverly called for him. “Could you come here please?”

“Sure Bevvy,” he nodded, jogging towards her.

“Could you please put this on?” She raised a coat up to him. “The designers need a model to add on some jewels and sequins.”

“Cool,” he threw in on. He raised an eyebrow with a smirk to match it, “How do I look?”

“Unprofessional,’ Ben chuckled, grabbing a needle and thread.

Richie threw a hand over his heart, “harsh!”

Ben smiled as he made Richie stand with his arms out. It made him look like an idiot with the way he was. His untamed curls were all over the place, a bright red and yellow suit coat on his shoulders that was unfinished, his circle black framed glasses almost falling off his nose and his tall figure made him noticeable within the performers.

“So,” Beverly eyed him up and down, “how are you liking it here?”

“Eh, it’s nice!” Richie shrugged his shoulders.

Beverly sighed, “you don’t need to pretend you know.”

“Pretend what?”

“Richie!”

Richie huffed, as he tried to find the right thing to say, but knowing him: he never does. “I’m just shocked that I’m working in a whorehouse.”

“This isn’t a brothel” Ben explained, sowing on a jewel.

“Then what the shit were those labelled rooms?” Richie remembered the scene. “ Storage closets?”

Beverly licked her lips, “didn’t Stan tell you about what’s going on?”

“Briefly,” Richie huffed.

Beverly crossed her arms, “it’s a long story.”

“OoO! I love stories!” His face lit up.

Bev chuckled, but soon her smile vanished. “ _Le Moulin Rouge_ used to be in full ownership of Bill. He had full control of what will happen. Yet, something happened to him that only gave him some parts of the _Le Moulin Rouge_ to own. We don’t know what it was, but we do know that it was that seriously bad.”

“Does this have to do with some douche I’ve been hearing about called Bowers?” Richie asked, interrupting her.

“His full name is Henry Bowers,” Ben corrected him. “Henry is a billionaire that owns the most popular entertainment industries in Paris, including _Le Moulin Rouge_.”

“Henry found out about what Bill did, and in exchanged to not expose him,” Beverly stopped as her eyes travelled the building, “Henry gets the deed to this place, and also most of the ownership.”

“Shit!” Richie cursed and soon felt a little pinch. Ben accidentally poked him with the needle. Good old Ben apologised and continued sowing the jacket. “So this Bowers guy is like top shit here?”

“He’s the one that calls the shots,” Ben answered, his concentrating returning to him. “That means he chooses who does what.”

“Unfortunately Eddie was one of us to be chosen to be a special type of entertainer,” Beverly sighed.

All this new information was making his head spin. He struggled to hold his arms up as he tried to stand still. Richie swallowed his own saliva as he tried to take in everything.

“Are you one of them?” Richie asked.

“Thank god no!” Ben smiled. “Only I get to touch her like that.”

Beverly blushed as a smile crept her lips, “Ben!”

“That was the fucking smoothest thing I’ve ever heard from you Benny Boy!” it sounded like he was a proud father.

Ben smiled as he finished the last sequin, “there, done.”

“Cool,” Richie fixed himself, “do I look profession now?”

“If I say yes, would it boost your ego?” Richie spun around to find the boy from earlier.

Richie would be lying to himself if he said Eddie didn’t look great! It didn’t even look like he just finished a dirty job! His hair was combed all the way through and not a single wrinkle on his suit. Eddie didn’t have a hat on but that didn’t matter to anyone, they were inside anyways. Eddie was leaning against a table that had all the accessories on it.

His lips curled into a toothy smile, “fuck yeah!”

“Then yes,” Eddie smiled, walking over to the trio.

“Hey,” Beverly wrapped her arms around the small boy. “How are you feeling?”

“Alright now,” Eddie hugged his friend back.

Richie ripped off the jacket, handing it back to Ben, “I gotta get back to work.” He jogged off to his camera and continued what he was doing before.

**~~~**

Richie was instructed by Bill to take some shots of the dance floor from other places. He said it might look more engaging to the viewer. After what he’s been told throughout this morning, he just followed his instructions. The young photographer brought his equipment to the third level of the building.  


Nobody was up there with him. Normally he would feel a little lonely up there without any company. Richie soon found that he works better with company then without. He didn’t let it affect his work though. Little footsteps were approaching the man and it distracted him.  


  
Richie turned his head away from the camera, a smile plasterd on his lips, “how may I help Mr. Moonlight Jewel?”  
  
“Just seeing how you doing,” Eddie joined his co-worker against the railing. “Everyone here treating you well?”  
  
“Yeah, but I did hear Stan earlier call me a smartass.”  
  
“Well, you kinda are.”  
Richie stopped his movements, then leaned against the railing, his eyes squinting towards his new co-worker, “First off, how dare you?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I’m not a fucking smartass!” Richie protested. “A trashmouth, sure, but not a smartass!”  
  
“Literally before you came up here, you held your hand out to one of the dancers and said ‘would you be kind enough and hold this while I go for a walk?’,” Eddie’s disappointment was all over his face.  
  
Richie pouted his bottom lip, “it worked, didn’t it?”  
  
Eddie shook his head, failing to hide the smile on his lips, “until Mike yelled at you to stop!”  
  
Richie smiled as he tried to adjust the size on the camera.  
  
“I’m sorry about what you saw.”  
  
Richie stopped his movements to process what he heard, “don’t worry about it, Eddie spaghetti, Stanley and Bevvy told me ‘bout what goes on after closing times.”  
  
“Oh my god,” Eddie flinched, “please don’t call me that.”  
  
“Okay, Eds.”  
  
“Oh god, that’s worse.”  
  
Richie laughed at his co-worker, “you’ll get used to it.”  
  
“I don’t think so!”


End file.
